Arizona Diamondbacks pitchers and catchers report

While a lot of other team had their pitchers and catchers report yesterday, the D-backs gave their players an additional day off. They’ve been gathering at Salt River Fields this morning: however, in what feels like a change, “pitchers and catchers report day” is also the day of the first workouts. Stop me if I’m wrong, but previously p&crd was basically the most glorious day when nothing happens. It was largely a nominal exercise, where the players didn’t even have to show up, but could literally phone in their attendance. This season. it’s a bit more of an actual event. Stretching! Bending! Tossing! Swinging! Albeit all of the “not too over-enthusiastic’ variety, of course.

It’s not exactly spring-like today in Phoenix, being grey, moist and so dark, when I woke up this morning, I thought it was two hours earlier than it actually was. But, still: Punxsutawney Peralta has stuck his note outside the burrow this morning, and proclaimed we’re good for six more weeks of spring training. As ever, there’ll be a point at which I’m sure we’re all heartily sick of it, and desperately want “meaningful” baseball to start: I give it about four weeks. But for now, it once again remains a source of joy and wonder to be able to contemplate baseball players doing baseball things in an actual baseball environment.